TERRACE PLAZA PLAYHOUSE WILL OPEN WITH A BANG

The Terrace Plaza Playhouse, opening next week with not one but three separate productions, promises to provide Weber County area residents with the same kind of "family theater" that has boomed with the Hale family's immensely popular enterprises in South Salt Lake and Orem (which were also the inspiration for the Pages Lane Theater in Centerville and the Hampton's Ford StageStop in Collinston, near Tremonton).

Beverly Olsen, formerly allied with the Pages Lane Theater, and her new partners have installed a 315-seat, thrust-stage theater in the space formerly occupied by a supermarket in Washington Terrace, a suburb on the southern edge of Ogden.Olsen, an energetic actress/director, will hit the ground running with "Scrooge," playing most evenings, "Babes in Toyland" (Saturday matinees - daily during school kids' Christmas vacation) and "The Wondrous Night" on Sunday evenings.

The new theater is located at 99 E. 4700 South, Washington Terrace. It occupies space that was formerly a Smith's grocery store. The building had been vacant for five years and the roof had to be retarred in order to bring the facility back up to code.

Partners in the new endeavor, in addition to Blaine and Beverly Olsen of Fruit Heights, are Kim and Jacci Florence, Layton; Joseph and Tami Olsen, South Ogden, and Rob and Patti Johnson, Sandy. They have invested more than $300,000 in the renovation of the building into a theater and plan to expand immediately into the rest of the structure with a mini-mall.

"Scrooge," directed by Beverly Olsen with Doug Vandegrift in the title role, will play on Mondays and Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. from Nov. 27 through Dec. 23. There will be no matinee performances. Admission is $6.50 for adults and $4 for children (11 and under) on weeknights and $7.50 & $5 on weekends.

"Babes in Toyland" will be the first in the playhouse's series of children's matinees. It will play on Saturdays only at noon on Nov. 28 and Dec. 5, 12, 19 and 26, with daily performances (also at noon) on Monday-Thursday, Dec. 28-31.

"The Wondrous Night" is a new religious drama written and directed by Annette Coombs. This production will be presented free of charge on Sundays at 7 p.m. Reservations are suggested.

Following "Scrooge," the theater's 1992-93 season will continue with Rodgers & Hammerstein's "The Sound of Music," opening on New Year's Eve with a buffet and dance.

Other mainstage shows scheduled for the remainder of the season include "Arsenic and Old Lace," "The Music Man" and "Harvey," "Pirates of Penzance" and "Oliver."

The Terrace Plaza's "Saturday matinee" lineup for next year includes "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," "The Wizard of Oz," "The Little Mermaid" and "Beauty and the Beast."

Olsen said the theater will also have a year-round acting school.

Because the Plaza is being operated as a nonprofit theater, Olsen said proceeds from the operation will be dedicated to the Multiple Sclerosis Society.

For reservations or further information on any of these productions or to inquire about season tickets, call the theater at 393-0070.